Knitting machine



, 1943- v L. MILLER ET AL KNiTTING MACHINE Feb. 16

Filed Feb. 7, i940 @2'Sheets-Sheetl Inventora lester' A. Miller C. F'oil' Patented Feb. 16, 1943 KNITTING MACHINE Lester A. Miller and Clifton C. Foil, Pittsfield, Mass.

Application February 7, 1940, Serial No. 317,626

6 Claims. (Cl. 6612) It is well known that ordinary knitted fabrics while quite resistant to stretching stresses applied longitudinally of the wales offer very little resistance to such stresses when applied in a direction transversely of the wales. To enhance the resistance of the fabric to transverse stretching, transversely extending weft yarns, which are substantially straight, may be laid along the outside of the fabric and secured thereto or therein at spaced intervals only so that when stretching stresses are applied to the fabric in a direction transversely of the wales, these yarns will be immediately placed under direct longitudinal tension and thus resist stretching up to the breaking point thereof.

The principal object of our invention is to provide a simple arrangement of special needles and cams which may be attached to an ordinary cylinder knitting machine for the purpose of incorporating such transversely extending weft yarns.

in the fabric.

While we have shown and described with particularity only one preferred form of our invention, we do not desire to be limited in the exact structural details thereof since variations in the arrangement and construction of the parts may.

be made without departing from the spirit of our invention as defined in the appended claims.

Referring to the drawings, in which like nu-.

merals refer to like parts.

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a knitting machine showing the application of our invention thereto;

Fig. 2 is a small scale diagrammatic plan View of a knitting machine showing our invention applied thereto at points spaced 90 apart around the cylinder of a knitting machine;

Fig. 3 is a rear or inside elevation view of one of our cams;

Fig. 4 is an end view of the cam shown in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a side elevation view of a needle having a special butt thereon;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary side elevation view of a needle having a special tip or apex thereon;

Fig. 7 is afragmentary front elevation view of the needle shown in Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a side elevation view of a standard blank or blind needle used for forming the loops in a terry knit fabric.

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary perspective view showing two of our specially butted needles in assembled relation as in a knitting machine with two ordinary needles and one of our specially tipped needles therebetween; and

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary perspective view showing several blanks and needles in assembled relation, as in a knitting machine, with a terry loopforming yarn running about the blanks.

The numeral 1 represents the dial cap, 2 the cylinder, and 3 the cam block of an ordinary knitting machine.

The needles l2 are ordinary latch needles identical with the other needles IS in the cam block except that they are provided with a special butt I6 which projects outwardly above the cam block, as shown in Fig. 1, and cooperates with the special cam 6 secured to the cam block. As illustrated, every fourth needle'is provided with a special butt l5 but other spacing of these needles may be employed. The cams 6 are also circumferentially spaced around the cam block as shown in Fi 2.

Each needle 20 next adjacent the needles I2 is a standard latch needle except that it is provided at the top with a tip H, the function of which will be described below.

The yarn I3 which is to be incorporated with the fabric as a substantially straight weft yarn by securing it thereto at spaced intervals is fed to the needles l2 through the usual tensioning and guiding means 8 and 5, respectively.

The cams 6 are provided with lower and upper camsurfaces I8 and i9, respectively, which cooperate with the bottoms and tops, respectively, of the butts Hi to raise and lower the needles 12.

The blanks or blind needles H are standard equipment for forming the loops in terry knit fabrics and our invention operates quite independently thereof. I

In the embodiment illustrated, the cam block with the cams 6 thereon rotates relative to the needles and all of the needles and blanks function in the usual manner in which these elements function in a machine of this type. The needles [2 and the needles 20, however, perform additional functions. Thus, when the special butts l6 on needles 12 come into cooperation with the cam 6, the needles l2 are raised substantially above the needles on either side thereof, as shown in Fig. 1, so that the yarn l3 may be readily fed into the hooks thereof. As the cam 6 moves past the needles [2, the upper surface l9 thereof moves the needles l2 downwardly, with the yarn l3 in the hooks thereof, into the position shown in Fig. 9. The points or tips 2| on the needles 20 deflect the yarn l3 behind the needles 20 and also behind the other needles intermediate the two needles [2, as shown in Fig. 9. Because the yarn I3 is within the hooks of the needles l2 but behind the needles positioned between the needles l2, that portion of the yarn between the needles l2, in the finished fabric, lies along the outside surface thereof but is secured in the fabric by the needles I 2 which in this respect function in the same way that they function in knitting the yarns forming the body of the fabric. Hence, the yarn I '3, for the most part, runs substantially straight along the outside of the terry loop side of the fabric and is thus adapted to resist stretching stresses applied transversely to the wales because there is no slack which is taken up as the fabric is transversely stretched. In

other words, the yarns l3 are substantially immediately placed in tension and thus resist stretching of the fabric.

What we claim is:

1. A knitting machine comprising a multiplicity of latch needles arranged in a single circle, a cam block adapted to carry cams for actuating said needles, a cam exterior of said cam block, a plurality of said needles spaced circumferentially around said machine, with other needles therebetween, being provided with butts adapted to cooperate with said exterior cam for raising and lowering said spaced needles independently of the cams in said block, means for guiding a yarn into the hooks of said butted needles when in raised position and means for guiding that portion of the yarn extending between said butted needles behind the needles positioned between said butted needles when said butted needles are lowered by said cam; whereby said portion of yarn will be laid substantially straight along the surface of one side of the fabric knitted by said machine.

2. In a knitting machine, a plurality of spaced needles with other needles therebetween all arranged in a single circle, a cam block adapted to contain cams therein for raising and lowering all of said needles, a plurality of cams cooperating only with said spaced needles for raising and lowering the same independently of the cams in said block, means for guiding yarns into cooperative relation with said spaced needles when raised, and means cooperating with said yarns as said spaced needles are lowered for guiding the portions of said yarn extending between said spaced needles behind a needle intermediate said spaced needles; whereby said portion is merely laid on the outside of the fabric knitted by said machine.

3. The structure set forth in claim 1 having a plurality of exterior cams, and a plurality of means for guiding a plurality of yarns; one such means cooperating with the needles actuated by each of said cams.

4. In a knitting machine, a plurality of spaced needles with other needles intermediate said spaced needles all arranged in a single circle, a cam block adapted to contain cams therein for actuating all of said needles, a cam cooperating only with said spaced needles to raise and lower the same independently of the cams in said block, means for guiding a yarn into cooperative relation with said spaced needles when raised, and means on the needles next following said spaced needles for casting said yarn to the rear of said next following needles.

5. In a knitting machine of the character described, the combination with a multiplicity of latch needles arranged in a single circle, a multiplicity of blanks, and a cam block adapted to carry cams for actuating said needles to knit a base fabric with terry loops on one side thereof, of means independent of said needle actuating cams for actuating certain only of said latch needles to secure a Weft yarn in said fabric at spaced intervals only and lay the balance of said yarn extending between said certain needles substantially straight along the surface of said fabric on the loop side thereof; whereby, due to the substantially straight weft yarn, transverse stretching of said fabric is resisted by tension developed in said yarn.

6. A circular knitting machine comprising a multiplicity of latch needles arranged in a single circle, a cam block adapted to carry cams for actuating said needles, means for feeding yarn into the hooks of said needles; certain only of said needles being positioned in spaced relation to each other with other needles therebetween and being provided with butts thereon positioned above said cam block; a cam above said cam block adapted to cooperate with the butts on said certain needles for raising the same above the level of the next adjacent needles and for thereafter lowering the same, means for feeding yarn into the hooks of said certain needles when raised, and means for deflecting the yarn passing through the hooks of said certain needles behind the hooks of the needles positioned between said certain needles as said certain needles are lowered, whereby those portions of the yarn between said certain needles will lie on the surface of one side of the fabric knitted by said machine.

LESTER A. MILLER. CLIFTON C. FOIL. 

